Thanks to Pinterest, I have come across a handful of really great recipes. This one has to be at the top of my Pinterest Recipe find, as I didn’t alter a thing. It is truly super good just the way it is!

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped {or chopped rotisserie chicken}
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 {4 oz.} can diced green chiles
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder (gives a good “kick” to the dish. Omit or Reduce, if need be)
1 tsp. cumin
2 {10 oz.} cans green chili enchilada sauce
2/3 cups red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese {I used colby & monterrey jack}
1 cup sour cream
Penne pasta

Optional toppings:
Avocado
Green Onions
Black Olives
Tomatoes
Sour Cream

Cook chicken, drain, and chop {or chop your rotisserie}. Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies.

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces. Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through. Now toss in the sour cream, but whatever you do, DO NOT bring to a boil! Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle. Gross. Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.
Drain pasta & return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta and mix well. Serve and garnish with avocado, tomato, green onion, and a dollop of sour cream.

Recipe & Photo: Courtesy of Pearls-Handcuffs-Happy Hour Blog via Pinterest

After years & years of searching for that 1 perfect Homemade pasta sauce, I have finally found the “one’! This Ragù is a total keeper, if not the ONLY red sauce I will make again.

Homemade Ragù

1/2 onion
1 stalk celery, cut into 4 pieces
1 small carrot, cut into 4 pieces
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground organic beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with oregano
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup stock (water will work too)

Pulse the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and rosemary in a food processor until finely chopped. It’s okay if it turns into a puree vs. chopped.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring, until softened and golden, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the beef, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, milk, 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes or longer for a thicker sauce.

Pour on top of your favorite cooked pasta. It’s great the next day & freezes well!

Recipe Source: Adapted by Food Network
Photos: by Jen Grove

Years ago, my good friend Vicki, made this dish for me after my daughter was born. It was so delicious I begged her for the recipe & have been making it for my family ever since. It’s one of those rare dishes that EVERYONE in the family eats (even the 2 year likes it).

It’s meant to be an appetizer, but we enjoy it as a main dish with a nice salad on the side.

2 tubes Crescent rolls (I use the Big ones)
14 oz artichoke hearts, chopped
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
10 oz Chopped Frozen Spinach, thawed & drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup red bell peppers
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 minced garlic

Preheat oven to 375*F.

In bowl, combine artichokes, spinach, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, garlic and black pepper. Mix well. Set aside.

Unroll the 2 packages of crescent rolls onto work surface. Layer the larger end of the triangles in a circle on a cookie sheet (a round baking stone would be better, but I don’t have one). Smaller points of the crescent triangles will extend off the edge of the cookie sheet (depending on size).

Scoop spinach filling evenly on the wide, over lapping portion of the crescent rolls.

Fold all points of the crescent triangles over the filling & tuck under the bottom layer of the crescent roll.

Brush top of ring with egg white. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe: Courtesy of Friend Vicki (but may have originated for the Pampered Chef)
Photos: by Jen Grove

This was my 1st attempt in making a Red Velvet cake & I think this recipe did the job!

Red Velvet Cake

Vegetable oil/spray for the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour your cake pans (I used 1 regular sized bundt cake pan)

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

*Note: if your buttermilk is not a room temp, your batter will look curdled. Heat in microwave for a few seconds if you need to.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Pour cake batter in cake pan(s). Place the pan(s) & bake. Rotate the pan(s) halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
*Note: Since I used a Regular sized Bundt Cake pan, my cooking time was closer to 45 min – 1 hour.

Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. Invert the cake onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.
*Note: Since a bundt cake pan is a lot deeper than other cake pans, you should let the cake cool a bit before trying to remove it from the pan. Removing the cake too soon will cause the top of the cake to tear apart from the bottom. This is not a problem if you plan on icing the cake, but will is a HUGE problem if you plan to just ice the top like most bundt cakes.

Recipe Source: Food Network